Gun cartridge holder

ABSTRACT

A gun cartridge holder formed as an integral unit having a flat base and upstanding mounting structures along the edges thereof through which and between which cartridges are positioned to securely hold the same. The cartridges are positioned within the vertical projection of the base and below the top of the mounting structures to provide a cartridge holder which may be used as a packing structure for cartridges and which also may be used as a carrying holder for cartridges for usage. The individual holders serve as holders and spacers in packing and also as a means for positioning a belt therethrough to carry the cartridge holder.

PATENTEmmv 2 I97I FIGI INVENTORS. PHILIP VII. LEWIS PETER C. COLLURA BY i x1 ATTORNEYS.

GUN CARTRIDGE HOLDER My invention relates to gun cartridge holders and more particularly to an improved gun cartridge holder for receiving and releasably holding a plurality of tapered gun cartridges of the center-fire type which is particularly adaptable for packing the cartridges as divider units and for carrying the cartridges for usage.

This improved gun cartridge holder is particularly adapted for use with cartridges of the center-fire type utilizing a tapered brass casing and with an exposed bullet extremity of lesser diameter than the casing. In shipment, such cartridges require packaging which will separate each individual cartridge from one another and for safety purposes it is desired to maintain such cartridges out of contact with one another. The improved gun cartridge holder mounts a plurality of such cartridges so they are frictionally held in a holder in such a manner that they will be within the horizontal projections of the holder with the ejector rim extremity exposed so that they may be readily removed therefrom. The positioning of the cartridges in the holder facilitate using the holder as a divider or packaging structure so that the individual holders may be stacked one upon another and inserted into a cardboard container for sales packaging or for shipment or handling in larger containers. A flange in the form of a loop at the extremities of the holder facilitate spacing of the individual holders in such a packaging in the container and permits ease in removal. The loop openings facilitate carrying of the individual holders as a cartridge container or bandolier by positioning the entire container on a belt extending through the loops in such a manner that the individual cartridges may be individually removed for usage and are readily accessible. The improved cartridge holder is made of a molded plastic material, such as polyethylene, which facilitates its usage as a packaging material or throwaway holder.

Therefore it is the principal object of this invention to provide an improved gun cartridge holder.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gun cartridge holder of this type which is readily used as a packing medium end shipping medium for cartridges.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved gun cartridge holder in which the individual cartridges are securely held for shipment or carrying purposes and yet are readily accessible for individual removal for usage.

Another object of this invention is to provide in an improved gun cartridge holder an arrangement in which the bullet extremity of the cartridge is enclosed for protection and the cap extremity is positioned relative to the other cartridges and packaging for protection at this extremity of the cartridge. A further object of this invention is to provide a gun cartridge holder particularly adapted for use in packaging to space, hold and protect cartridges.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved gun cartridge holder applicable to all sizes of large caliber rifle ammunition wherein the case has a larger diametrical dimension than the bullet extremity.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved gun cartridge holder particularly adapted for machine packaging of cartridges.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved gun cartridge holder which is relatively low in cost facilitating its usage as a packaging medium and cartridge carrying device.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from reading the attached description together with the drawings where:

FIG. I is a plan view of the improved gun cartridge holder.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the improved cartridge holder,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view with parts in section as taken along the lines 3-3 in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the cartridge holder taken along the lines 4-4 in FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the improved gun cartridge holder mounted on a belt to show a condition of usage,

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a box or cartridges showing the improved gun cartridge holder as a spacer and mounting for cartridges in a shipping or sales box or container, and

FIG. 7 is an end elevation view of an alternate embodiment of the improved gun cartridge holder.

Our improved gun cartridge holder is show in FIG. I-4 in plan and sectional views to show the shape and construction of the same. FIG. 1 also includes a showing of a particular length cartridge mounted in the holder in which the cartridge falls within the vertical and horiontal projection of the holder. It will be recognized, however, that longer length and larger sized cartridges may be mounted in the same holder and that the bullet extremity of the cartridge will be protected and the cap extremity of the cartridge with respect to other cartridges in the holder will e securely positioned and held with respect to one another. Regardless of the size of the cartridge, all cartridges will fall within the horizontal projection of the holder even though the cap extremity may extend beyond the edge of the holder. However, in packaging, the cap extremity will be protected by the material of the package. The improved cartridge holder may be placed one upon another in packaging, as will be hereinafter identified, to provide for spacing of the cartridges within a container. In addition the improved cartridge holder will serve the additional function of a gun cartridge holder for a user so that it can be mounted on a belt or similar article of support with the cartridges therein being readily accessible for removal and use.

The improved gun cartridge holder, shown generally at 10, has a generally flat or platelike base portion with flanges 12 at the extremity of the same which flanges extend across the width of the base portion and include elongated slots 14 therein by means of which a belt or similar support may be inserted through the slots to mount the cartridge holder for usage. This flat platelike base portion or structure is principally defined by a solid center section 15 which has formed integral therewith two raised mounting portions on either side of the same and indicated generally at 1.9 and 20 which extend along the sides of the holder and are generally hollow with translationally extending reinforcing rib section 22 spaced along the extent of the same. The entire structure is preferably constructed by molding process from a plastic material, such as polyethylene, and is generally flexible. This permits the construction of the holder at a relatively low cost such that it may be used as a throwaway divider section and also as a temporary mounting for cartridges for usage. It may, however, be made of other materials and through other construction methods. The raised mounting portion 19 includes a vertical solid side 25, a flat upper surface 26 and an inclined inner surface 27 which meets with the platelike center section 15. The raised mounting portion 20 includes two inclined side surfaces indicated at 35 and 37, which taper inwardly and upwardly and connect with a flat topped surface 36 of the same height from the base as is the surface 26 to define the upper surface of the holder. Each of the raised mounting portions or structures have a plurality of identical side-by-side apertures therethrough, to be hereinafter described, at the surfaces 27, 35 and 37, respectively with the apertures in each surface being of different construction to conform with a cartridge. The side-by-side apertures in each of the surfaces align with one another to define an actual passage or mounting space through which a cartridge extends and is mounted. There apertures will best be seen in FIG. 3 or in the section line cuts across the holder to disclose the shape of the same. Thus, apertures 40 extending through the wall or side 37 which is the top or insertion side of the holder, are cylindrical in form and the same as or slightly more than the maximum in diameter dimension of a cartridge, indicated at 50, to be mounted therein. The improved cartridge holder in its preferred form will serve to mount various length cartridges of different caliber of the center-fire type for rifles the casings of which taper from the ejector extremity inwardly with a reduced bullet holding extremity whose diametrical dimension that of the lead or bullet or the cartridge. Further, the bullet extremity will be enclosed within the holder. Thus the apertures in the surfaces or walls 35 and 27, as will be seen in FIG. 3, are reduced in opening area and in diametrical dimension for those in the surface 37. The apertures in the surface 35, as identified at 42 have flange sections 44 about the surface of the same for the purpose of engaging the surface of the cartridge and frictionally engaging the same. Similarly apertures 45 in the surface 27 of the raised mounting portion 19 are of reduced diametrical dimension and include tab portions 46 projecting into the opening and defining an area or surface which will engage and grip the bullet extremity of the cartridge. The surface 25 is devoid of apertures and this portion of the mounting structure encloses the bullet extremity of the cartridge. A certain portion of the cartridge casing will be exposed above the platelike base section I5 and the entire casing and cartridge will be positioned below the projection of the top surfaces 26 and 36 of the raised mounting portion. Similarly the ejector extremity of the cartridge casing will be exposed beyond the surface 37 of the holder for ease in removal of the same. As will be seen further in the drawings, the wall surfaces 27, 35 and 37 are offset along their extent with the portions or surfaces adjacent the base or platelike surface projecting outwardly from the upper portions of the surfaces to rigidify the entire holder. In addition, this portion of the surface on the face or top of the cartridge holder 37 ill present a surface to hold the edge or end of the cartridge casing at its ejector extremity for positive positioning of the cartridge casing and will permit a greater exposure of the cartridge at the top side thereof to enable the user to simply remove the shorter length cartridges from the holder. The individual rib portions 22 extending across and within the raised mounting portion 19 and 20 further isolate each side-by-side cartridge 50 and increase the strength of the cartridge holder.

FIG. 5 shows the improved cartridge holder in the attitude or under condition of field usage. Thus as will be seen in FIG. 5, the improved cartridge holder 10 is shown mounted on a belt indicated generally at 60 and broken away to indicate that the belt would extend through the flanges I2 and the slots 14 therein at the extremities of the holder such that it could be placed around the waist of the user with the cap extremity of the individual cartridges 50 being located on the top side thereof and easily accessible for removal therefrom. It may also be mounted by the user bandolier fashion on a belt or similar support extending across the shoulders as desired. The improved cartridge holder frictionally grips the cartridges therein such that the cartridges will not fall out of the same but will have to be removed manually to overcome the frictional gripping force of the holder.

In FIG. 6, two such cartridge holders are shown mounted in a shipping container or sales box indicated at 70 in a broken away perspective view. The cartridge holders will be placed one on top of another within the container 70 such that the base of one holder will rest on the top surface of the other. The cartridges within the holder will all fall within the horizontal profile of the holder so that cartridges in one holder will not be in contact with another and the holders will serve as a spacer for the cartridges within the carton. Cartridges of this type are normally sold in lots of 20 cartridges to a box and the improved cartridge holder which will mount l0 cartridges provides a simplified means for holding the cartridges in a container and for carrying cartridges in the field. As will be seen in FIG. 6, the individual holders in the sales carton 70 will be positioned therein in the same manner and stacked one on the other with the bullet extremity being protected by the holder itself and with the cap extremities of the cartridges being protected by the wall of the container. This arrangement facilitates machine filling of the packages. In addition, the individual holders are readily removed from the package by opening of the end flap 72 of the carton 70 such that the flange extremity of a holder may be readily grasped by the user to withdraw the holder therefrom. The improved cartridge holder replaces the individual and complex paper spacers conventionally used in cartons of this type and have the additional facility of providing a means for carrying ammunition in the field. The improved cartridge holder is preferably formed as heretofore noted by a molding process a plastic material, such as polyethylene to provide a low-cost disposable structure which is particularly adapted for mounting cartridges in the sales carton and for carrying cartridges in a limited number by a user on a belt or part ofa bandolier. The holder securely grips the individual cartridge casing to retain the cartridges in the holder and yet provides ready accessibility for removal of the cartridges.

FIG. 7 discloses an alternate embodiment of the improved cartridge holder particularly adapted for long length cartridges. This alternate embodiment utilizes the same basic form as the holder shown in FIGS. 16 and includes in addition a flap portion which extends across the length of the carton holder and projects transversely therefrom aligned with the bottom surface to provide an additional protective flap for longer length cartridges. Thus the part of the modified holder which are similar to that of the preferred embodiment are renumbered using the same numbers and a description of the same is omitted for simplicity. With the longer length cartridges, the ejector extremity of the cartridges will project beyond the main body portion of the holder and the protective flap 80 which is made of the same material as the holder will extend below the cartridges mounted in the holder will to be capable of being bent around the cap extremities of the longer cartridges as additional protection to the cartridges in packaging. As indicated in FIG. 7, this flap extremity can be bent around the ends of the cartridges and the same mounted in a container, as indicated at 80, with the flap serving as a suitable divider for this extremity of the cartridges in the casing. As in the preferred embodiment, the holder would be formed preferably by a molding process of plastic material such that the flap extremity which is made of a relatively thin dimension with be bendable around the ends of the cartridges as indicated in the drawings. The same advantages and characteristics would be provided by this alternate embodiment.

Therefore, in considering this invention it should be remembered that the present disclosure is illustrative only and the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

I. A gun cartridge holder comprising, a generally rectangular base structure having a flat lower surface and raised mounting structures extending along the longitudinal extent of the sides thereof, said raised mounting structures having a plurality of aligned and side-by-side spaced apertures therethrough with the aligned apertures being adapted to receive a tapered cartridge and grip the cartridge in a frictiontype mounting, said raised mounting structures on one side of said base structure having aligned apertures therethrough and on the opposite side of the base structure having a single aperture therein aligned with the first mentioned apertures, said cartridge when mounted in the aligned apertures of the mounting structure of the holder having an enlarged head portion exposed and the bullet extremity enclosed with each cartridge positioned below the top of the mounting structures and above the bottom of the base structure, and flange means formed integral with the ends of the base structure projecting outwardly from the lower surface and having slots therein, said raised mounting structure with aligned apertures therethrough having inwardly tapered sides toward its upper surface remote from the flat lower surface and with the inwardly tapered sides of said one raised mounting structure including offset portions between the upperand lower halves of the same with the lower half projecting outwardly from the upper half.

2. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 in which at least some of the aligned apertures of the raised mounting structure have projections on the mounting structure to reduce the size of the opening therethrough and provide gripping surfaces for the cartridge.

3. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 in which the aligned apertures in the raised mounting structures decrease in opening size from one side of the holder toward the other.

4. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 in which the raised mounting structures on the lower flat surface of the base structure are recessed with a plurality of divider members extending between the side-by-side apertures therein to reinforce the mounting structures and separate cartridges positioned through the aligned apertures in the holder.

5. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 in which the rectangular base structure is molded from a polyethylene material.

6. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 and including flap means connected to the base structure and aligned therewith projecting to one side of the same common to the mounting structure through which the enlarged head portion of the cartridge extends, said flap portion being adapted to be bent around the head portion of a cartridge.

7. The gun cartridge holder of claim 6 in which the flap means is a flap formed integral with the base structure and in which the cartridge holder and the flap means are formed in a molded plastic material. 

1. A gun cartridge holder comprising, a generally rectangular base structure having a flat lower surface and raised mounting structures extending along the longitudinal extent of the sides thereof, said raised mounting structures having a plurality of aligned and side-by-side spaced apertures therethrough with the aligned apertures being adapted to receive a tapered cartridge and grip the cartridge in a friction-type mounting, said raised mounting structures on one side of said base structure having aligned apertures therethrough and on the opposite side of the base structure having a single aperture therein aligned with the first mentioned apertures, said cartridge when mounted in the aligned apertures of the mounting structure of the holder having an enlarged head portion exposed and the bullet extremity enclosed with each cartridge positioned below the top of the mounting structures and above the bottom of the base structure, and flange means formed integral with the ends of the base structure projecting outwardly from the lower surface and having slots therein, said raised mounting structure with aligned apertures therethrough having inwardly tapered sides toward its upper surface remote from the flat lower surface and with the inwardly tapered sides of said one raised mounting structure including offset portions between the upper and lower halves of the same with the lower half projecting outwardly from the upper half.
 2. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 in which at least some of the aligned apertures of the raised mounting structure have projections on the mounting structure to reduce the size of the opening therethrough and provide gripping surfaces for the cartridge.
 3. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 in which the aligned apertures in the raised mounting structures decrease in opening size from one side of the holder toward the other.
 4. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 in which the raised mounting structures on the lower flat surface of the base structure are recessed with a plurality of divider members extending between the side-by-side apertures therein to reinforce the mounting structures and separate cartridges positioned through the aligned apertures in the holder.
 5. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 in which the rectangular base structure is molded from a polyethylene material.
 6. The gun cartridge holder of claim 1 and including flap means connected to the base structure and aligned therewith projecting to one side of the same common to the mounting structure through which the enlarged head portion of the cartridge extends, said flap portion being adapted to be bent around the head portion of a cartridge.
 7. The gun cartridge holder of claim 6 in which the flap means is a flap formed integral with the base structure and in which the cartridge holder and the flap means are formed in a molded plastic material. 